Before withdrawing, Maria Sharapova was the No. 3 seed in the U.S. Open. / Pat Lovell, USA TODAY Sports

by USA TODAY Sports, USA TODAY

by USA TODAY Sports, USA TODAY

Maria Sugarpova won't be playing in the U.S. Open. Neither will Maria Sharapova.

The 2006 champion withdrew from the season's final Grand Slam on Wednesday because of bursitis in her right shoulder.

"Maria has informed us that she will be unable to compete at the U.S. Open this year due to a right shoulder bursitis and has withdrawn from the tournament," U.S. Open tournament director David Brewer said in a statement. "We wish her a speedy recovery and look forward to her return to New York next year."

Sharapova's agent, Max Eisenbud, told USA TODAY Sports that her shoulder has been bothering her since before the French Open in May.

Sharapova released a statement on her official site: "I just wanted to let you know that withdrawing from the US Open has been a really tough decision to make. I have done everything I could since Wimbledon to get myself ready, but it just wasn't enough time. I have done many tests, received several opinions and it all comes down to taking the proper amount of time to heal my shoulder injury properly. It's certainly not an easy decision to make ahead of one of my favorite tournaments, but I know it's the right one that will get me back on the courts soon. I plan on taking the next few weeks off, receiving proper treatment and rehabilitation. I will miss being part of the US Open, but can't wait for next year!"

"Maria Sharapova is one of the great warriors of the tennis world," USTA executive director and chief operating officer Gordon Smith told the Associated Press. "If she withdrew, there's a serious issue."

Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland will move up to the No. 3 seed in women's singles, and Sara Errani of Italy will be No. 4. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia becomes the No. 32 seed.

The draw for the year's last Grand Slam tournament is Thursday at noon at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York. Play begins Monday.

Sharapova of Russia had been in the news Tuesday because of rumors that she had planned to change her name for the duration of the season's final major to Sugarpova, her line of gummy candies.

She attended a promotion Tuesday in Manhattan for Sugarpova.

Sharapova was sidelined by a hip injury after Wimbledon. Then she hired Jimmy Connors as her coach, an arrangement that lasted one match, a loss, last week at the Western & Southern Open in Mason, Ohio.

Sharapova last skipped the U.S. Open in 2008, when she was off the tour for about 10 months because of surgery on her right shoulder. She won her first major title since that operation in last year's French Open, completing a career Grand Slam.

Earlier Wednesday, former top-10 player Mardy Fish of the USA withdrew from the U.S. Open, citing personal reasons.